A very clear and well-designed book that will take you step by step into the process of structuring the various sections of chapters in your research paper of thesis. Lots of useful tables with frequently used phrases of academic writing.

A little gem of a book! A must-read for all (students and staff) who want to improve their writing by applying some simple and practical strategies. Plenty of examples (and ‘solutions’) for you to practice your skills.

If you are new to publishing a research paper, this book will take you through every step in the process from choice of journal, to manuscript submission, to response to reviewers’ comments. Excellent advice even if you are not new to publishing!

(and if you don’t have one to join, create your own – keep reading and I’ll tell you how)

A journal club is a group of people who meet regularly to critically evaluate recent articles in the academic literature and to discuss in detail a specific research paper.

The members of the club can range from PhD students and post-docs, to more experienced researchers and highly accomplished professors. A mix of people at different stages in their careers is a blessing to further stimulate discussion (even though it may feel slightly intimidating to the inexperienced student).

Promote your sense of belonging (to your research group or department)

Turn a social occasion into an enjoyable educational treat.

Of course, you may be in the unfortunate position of not having a journal club to join.

If so, just start one yourself!

Ideally, you should aim for a group of four or five members, but again don’t let this stop you dead in your tracks. All you need to make a start is just one more person. So, ask a fellow PhD student or an early-career post-doctoral fellow from your own discipline.

And if you are still complaining that you can’t (I know… you are the only student in your group!), then consider creating a virtual Journal Club that meets online.

Once you have found and assembled your buddies, here is what you need to do:

Schedule your meetings to take place regularly (ideally once a week, for about one hour)

Design a facilitator before each meeting (make sure this role is taken in turn by all members of the group)

The facilitator chooses a paper for discussion and distributes it to all members a few days before the meeting

The facilitator circulates a few questions about the paper (this is optional, but may prove useful to focus people’s minds to specific issues, especially if the paper is very long)

Each member commits to reading the paper before the meeting and to think about the questions posed

At the meeting, the facilitator presents a brief overview of the paper. Keep this informal: no need to prepare slides or anything. A piece of chalk and a blackboard is all you need to write down key points if necessary

The facilitator initiates the discussion and encourages everyone to take part (see below for suggestions of possible topics)

Before the meeting ends, agree on the date, time and facilitator for the following meeting

Make sure you start and finish at the agreed times.

If you are in doubt as to what to discuss about, here some pointers to get you started (feel free to add your own)

Description of the study:

What was the purpose of the research?

Why is the research important in the wider context?

Were the key objectives clearly stated?

What was the nature of the study (experimental, theoretical, computational)?

Literature evaluation

Was the literature review well presented and sufficiently up to date?

Was any major recent study left out? If so try to figure out why

Is the paper clear and well written?

Approach and Analysis

What was the method used in the study? Can you clearly identify it?

How were data obtained and analysed?

Is/was there any fault in the approach used?

Is the statistical analysis of the data appropriate and sound?

Results and Conclusions

What were the key findings of the study?

Were results clearly presented and properly discussed?

Did the author(s) offer an interpretation of their results?

Did the study suffer from any potential limitations? Were these discussed?

Could the study be replicated?

Was the study successful in solving the research gap(s) identified?

What additional questions does the study raise?

I hope this post serves you well.

A final secret for success?

Just take action now. Go talk to one of your colleagues or friends, share this post and arrange your first meeting.

Very often people think that being a researcher is all about excitement, discoveries, and success. And while some of this may eventually be achieved, the day-to-day reality of it is rather different.

We often struggle to keep up with running a lab, taking new data, analyzing them, writing papers, applying for grants. And all of this while also trying to have a full and fulfilled life!

Some of us may also constantly battle with negative thoughts:

“what if this is not good enough?”

“what if I don’t manage to make good progress?”

“why did I not do this earlier when I had more time?”

No wonder, we often feel exhausted, overwhelmed and just simply run down.

I have been there myself. And I have personally discovered what a huge difference it can make to just follow the advice and support of those who have been there and have found a way to succeed.

In fact, soon after becoming a mom, some years ago, I realized I needed to set new priorities both at work and in my private life. That’s when I started working with Olga Degtyareva, a friend and former colleague of mine.

Olga has become an expert on productivity and she has already helped many students and researchers all over the world to make huge progress in their careers without feeling hopeless, overwhelmed, or stressed out.

The good news is that Olga has now put together a great free training series to show you exactly how to overcome overwhelm, become more productive and stay productive for good!! Over 150 people from around the world have already joined in this training. You can still register to access the full training series at the link below: